Great War Britain Manchester: Remembering 1914-18

By Andrew Simpson

The First World War claimed over 995,000 British lives, and its legacy continues to be remembered today. Great War Britain: Manchester offers an intimate portrayal of the city and its people living in the shadow of the Great War. A beautifully illustrated and highly accessible volume, it explores the city's regiments, the background and fate of the men on the frontline, the changing face of industry, the vital role of women, conscientious objectors, hospitals for the wounded and rehabilitation, peace celebrations, the fallen heroes and war memorials. The Great War story of Manchester is told through the voices of those who were there and is vividly illustrated with evocative images.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Feb 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9780750981934

Book preview

Harrop.

INTRODUCTION

A CENTURY ON

The Great War has all but faded from living memory. Those men and women who played an active part in the conflict are now long gone and soon their children will have passed away too. In addition, some of the war memorials are at risk of being lost either through neglect and the passage of time or, in the case of a few, taken down and casually forgotten about. All of this does nothing for our perception of the First World War, which is now overlaid with misconceptions and omissions.

It starts with the photographs of men and women whose images are frozen in a moment in time, so we either see them as young and eager, staring back at us in ill-fitting uniforms or grey munitions overalls, or, more recently, as frail pensioners with faltering voices and walking sticks who were venerated as the last of their generation. But that is to forget that the majority of them lived full productive lives, contributed to their community, and got on with the daily demands of work, family and holidays long after the war had been consigned to the history books.

Clara, wearing the cap of the East Lancashire Regiment.

The Manchester’s at Haywards Heath, undated postcard.

And I doubt that they would always share the currently popularly held views of the war which pretty much are limited to the battlefields of France, the role of women in the munitions factories and the odd Zeppelin raid. They might well instead have pointed to the huge rise in the cost of living, the anger at perceived profiteering and defended the walkouts, strikes and demonstrations which rumbled through the four years of war.

All dressed up: possibly a picture for a serving soldier from his wife.

Two munitions workers.

Nor, I suspect, would the women engaged in the war effort have recognised that idea that they were welcomed into the workforce by a grateful nation, when in reality many experienced some discrimination, were often on lower wage rates than men doing similar work, and might have had to juggle their working life with the demands of bringing up a family.

Wedding party at Hough End Hall, May 1915.

The people of Manchester, Salford and the surrounding townships made a huge and willing contribution to the war effort, seen in the large numbers who volunteered for the Pals Battalions, the support given to local Red Cross hospitals and the numerous war funds, the sacrifices made in the homes and workplaces from Ancoats to Whalley Range, and, above all, in the personal sacrifices, like that of Mrs Bingle of Ardwick who lost three of her sons in the last year of the war, or Mr and Mrs Lunt of Chorlton-cum-Hardy who lost two sons in the space of twenty days in 1917.

Private Douglas Brown displaying the wound stripe.

So this is their story, told not just from the official reports and newspapers but also from letters and photographs and other personal items reflecting their work, recreation, putting food on the table and waiting for news from the Front.

Andrew Simpson

Manchester, 2017

1

MANCHESTER IN 1914

In the summer of 1914, Manchester, like many other cities across the country, was a place of contrasts. After a century and a half of economic growth it was a showcase of wealth and opportunity, with fine civic buildings, grand offices and prestigious warehouses, along with impressive railway stations and the Ship Canal, which united Manchester and Salford to the sea, and to the vast markets of the world.

Piccadilly, early twentieth century.

Those decades of industrial enterprise are recorded for all to see across the city. In the Town Hall the names and coats of arms of the principle cities and countries which traded with Manchester are proudly displayed, while the day-to-day business of commerce operated in the bustling exchanges where commodities were bought and sold and commercial intelligence was shared. The city owed much to the textile industry but was also a centre of engineering and metal work, had its own deep shaft colliery and was home to countless smaller businesses specializing in everything from shipping insurance to tobacco manufacturers.

Cross Street, early twentieth century.

But less than a mile from all this glittering and solid evidence of success were the narrow streets, dark alleys and run-down parts of the city where ‘poverty still busied itself’.1 Manchester no longer had the slums which social observers Dr Kay and Frederick Engels had recorded in the early to mid nineteenth century, but there was still much that was grim and daunting.

The estimated total population of Manchester in 1914 was 731,830, and of that 210,494 were men between the ages of 15 and 45 years.

In 1904, a report on housing conditions drew attention to the ‘many houses at present occupied [which] are unwholesome, because they have been badly built or are in need of repair. Such houses are frequently damp and cold. Many of them are old and dirty.’ These suffered from a lack of basic sanitation and ventilation. Added to which, ‘many of them have too many people living in them for the size and number of rooms’ with rents ‘on average very little lower than those paid for good houses in other parts of the town.’2

Market Street, early twentieth century.

St Peter’s Square, early twentieth century.

The report focused on parts of Ancoats, Ardwick, Hulme, and Chorlton-on-Medlock as well as Salford, where life at the turn of the century was still an unpredictable struggle to make ends meet and where unemployment, illness or the death of the main wage earner could pitch a family into destitution and the workhouse.

In 1911 a full 9 per cent of young people in Manchester between the ages of 10 and 14 were at work, which in the case of boys rose from just 1 per cent of those aged 10-12 to 30 per cent by their 14th birthday.

Looking at the list of charities is to appreciate just how many of the poor citizens of Manchester might be forced into asking for help. They ranged from the Ragged School, through to those for ‘Destitute Women’ and ‘Inebriate Women’, to a vast array of night shelters and asylums, as well as support groups for ex-prisoners and army veterans. In 1911 there were twenty-nine orphanages and homes for children across the city, along with the Open All-Night Children’s Shelter, the St Vincent’s Night Shelter and Home for Girls, and the fourteen centres operated by the Manchester and Salford Boys’ and Girls’ Refuges and Homes, which had been established in 1870 to provide a bed and meal for homeless young boys but quickly expanded to provide much more.3 This included long-stay accommodation, training for work, as well as campaigning against the use of children as cheap labour and prosecuting neglectful parents.

The Royal Exchange, early twentieth century.

OUT ON THE TOWN

The city offered plenty in the way of attractions, ranging from open-air spaces to theatres, art galleries and cinemas. At the most basic level there were fifty-seven recreational grounds, from the small space in Chorlton-cum-Hardy which covered 2 acres with a children’s play space and neatly laid flower beds broken by expanses of grass, to the Marie Louise Gardens which had over 4 acres and was described as a haven of tranquillity.

There were also the big parks. On the northern side of the city there was Heaton Park and Queen’s Park, and at the southern end there was Platt Fields in Fallowfield and Alexandra Park in Moss Side.

The city boasted forty-two halls and assembly rooms offering everything from debates and lectures